It is known to provide automotive interiors with various trim assemblies to improve the aesthetic appearance of the automotive interior and for the comfort and convenience of vehicle occupants. Examples of these interior trim assemblies include the instrument panels, armrests, door panels and consoles. In many of these trim assemblies, various instrumentation and other electronic components are mounted to the trim assembly for performing desired functions throughout the automobile. For instance, instrument panels have a wide variety of electrical components including lighting fixtures, audiovisual equipment and numerous switches that control the various systems of the automobile. Door panels likewise include electrical components such as speaker systems, window and door lock switches and other components.
To provide power to all these components and systems, the automotive electrical system includes a plurality of wires, many of which are part of wire harnesses, running throughout the automobile and along the various trim assemblies to the components mounted thereto. The wires are routed along the back side of the trim assembly so as to be hidden from view when the trim assembly is mounted to the automobile. If the wires are left unrestrained, the wires will often create a rattling or buzzing noise by contacting the back side of the trim assembly during normal operation of the vehicle or from the various vibrations in the automobile. These rattling noises are undesired and may lead to irritation of the vehicle's occupants.
As a result, automotive manufacturers have secured the wires running behind the various trim assemblies so as to prevent their movement relative to the trim assemblies. Conventional methods for manufacturing these trim assemblies include two-shot injection molding, wherein a first material is injected into a mold to form a rigid substrate of the trim assembly. A second, softer material is then injected into the mold to form a skin or cover over a front surface of the rigid substrate such that when the trim assembly is installed in the vehicle, the cover faces the automotive interior and provides a soft feel and an aesthetically pleasing appearance to the trim assembly. To secure the wires to the trim assembly, an assembly worker takes the as-formed trim assembly and generally forms a plurality of holes in the substrate at desired locations for securing the wires. The assembly worker will then insert attachment clips into the holes so that the attachment clips extend away from the back side of the substrate. The assembly worker will then couple the various wires running behind the trim assembly to the attachment clip. The attachment clip is generally made of a relatively rigid material which provides a structural aspect to the clip. Because the attachment clip is made from a relatively hard material, wires that are coupled thereto may still make undesired noises during normal operation of the automobile.
Moreover, current methods for securing wires to substrate members are manufacturing intensive, requiring multiple operations, multiple parts, and manual labor to produce the desired end product or result. The increased operations, parts, and manual labor contribute to increased manufacturing costs of the various trim assemblies. A need therefore exists for an automotive trim assembly that addresses these and other drawbacks of the prior art and prevents wires positioned behind the trim assembly from making undesired noises.